1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a commodity data reading apparatus with a bar code reader which has scanning means supported on a support post fixed to a commodity receiving base to project upwardly relative to a commodity placing surface of the receiving base, the scanning means scanning a bar code mounted on a commodity when the commodity passes over the placing surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
The above described type of the commodity data reading apparatus has been used in a check out system installed in a supermarket, for example.
FIGS. 1 through 3 show a conventional commodity data reading apparatus of the above type, which is used in a supermarket. In this apparatus, a support post 14 projecting vertically upward is mounted at the center of one side edge of the rectangular and horizontal commodity placing surface 12 of a check table 10, and the placing surface 12 is mounted on the top surface of the table 10. A bar code read window 16 is formed in the center portion of one side surface of the post 14, one side surface being located at the placing surface side. A scanner of the bar code reader (not shown) is disposed inside the post 14 to face the window 16.
A stopper 18 in the form of a rubber stripe lies in the right part (as viewed in the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 2) of the placing surface 12 so as to be located at a position near the support post 14 and to extend in a width direction of the placing surface 12. The right part of the placing surface 12 with respect to the stopper 18 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used as a basket receiving area 12a on which is placed a basket 26a containing commodities that have not had their commodity data inputted. The left part of the placing surface 12 of the table 10 is used as a basket sending-out area 12b on which an empty basket 26b can be placed to receive data-inputted commodities. An empty basket 26b can be placed at a narrow portion 12c in front of the post 14 on the sending-out area 12b of the placing surface 12 in such a wa that its longitudinal edges extend parallel to the longitudinal edges of the surface 12, as is shown in FIG. 2.
A top end surface of the post 14 is inclined toward the placing surface 12, and a keyboard 20, which is an input unit to control means of the bar code reader, is arranged on the inclined top end surface. A display support 22 having a triangular cross section is mounted on the top end portion of the post 14 to extend parallel to the placing surface 12 of the table 10. Display panels 24a and 24b as data display means are disposed on the two inclined regions in the top surface of the display support 22. The display panels 24a and 24b display a specific one of the commodity data, e.g., a total of the prices of purchased commodities, that are read from the bar code on the purchased commodity by means of the bar code reader or that are inputted by the keyboard 20.
In practical use, an operator or cashier 25 stands on one side of the check table 10, which is remote from the support post 14, while a purchaser stands on the other side of the table 10. The purchaser places a basket 26a, in which commodities that he or she wants to purchase, on the basket receiving area 12a of the placing surface 12 of the check table 10.
An operator 25 picks up a commodity from the basket 26a placed on the basket receiving area 12a of the placing surface 12, passes the commodity in front of the bar code read window 16 of the post 14 with a bar code, mounted on the commodity, directed toward the bar code read window 16, and enters the commodity into the empty basket 26b located on the narrow portion 12c of the basket sending-out area 12b.
Since the scanner, which is located within the support post 14 to face the window 16, is scanning a predetermined range in a space indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3, with a laser beam, the operator 25 holding the commodity must pass the bar code on the commodity within the predetermined range. Further, the bar code displaying area on the outer surface of the commodity must be crossed by the laser beam applied in the predetermined range at an angle within a predetermined range.
Generally, the number of kinds of commodities which are sold in a supermarket is great, and their shapes and sizes, and locations of bar code displaying areas are different from each other. Therefore, the operator must take much care to pass the bar code mounted on the commodity within the predetermined scanning region, and to keep the inclination of the bar code displaying area with respect to the laser beam in the predetermined angle ranges. The following situation however, frequently occurs; in which the scanner cannot exactly read the bar code on the commodity with only one passing of the commodity in front of the window 16. In such a situation, the operator must repeat the passing motions of the commodity in front of the window 16 until the scanner can exactly read the bar code on the commodity. If the scanner cannot exactly read the bar code on the commodity after such repeated passing motions of the commodity, the operator 25 must finally use the keyboard 20 on the support post 14 to enter the predetermined commodity data about the commodity to a cash register a Point Of Sales terminal with which the bar code reader is connected.
Such repeating works makes the operator get physical and mental fatigue, and further increases a wait by the purchaser. The increased wait results in reduction of the number of customers that can be handled per unit time in the store. This leads to reduction of sales.